SilberDrachi
New Member
I wanted to seek some advice before i go down a rabbit hole of ideas that will end badly. I figured i should post on here to make sure im not being stupid, or if there is an easier/better way to do this.
The idea came about when my friend and i decided to do a tough mudder, in a semi boba fett costume (Basically chest/back/helm, no lower gear). We ended up settling on getting a set of armor off etsy and when i got it i was looking at it and it seemed to just be vac formed ABS and nothing too special about it. Though im sure im overly simplifying that. And after spending a while painting and working with it, we were discussing Kydex for a different project and i caught myself thinking if i could make my own forms and make Kydex armor. Pretty much i want to make a few sets for myself for different ideas, few for my friend and his girlfriend (who wants an awesome zelda themed one which sounds amazing) and maybe one or two to sell to pay for the cost maybe?
Thus i started down a research hole on what i might need and how i might do it, and how much it might cost. And basically what i was thinking was getting a couple lengths of two by fours and glue them together into the right general shape, using a bandsaw or hand saw to rough cut the shapes out, and then using a rasp/file/sandpaper/chisel to finish the shape. Possibly using bondo to hide mistakes im sure to make. Then to actually make the armor itself, heating up sheets of the kydex with ah heatgun and working them over the form with some work gloves and something like a bone tool used in pottery.
The only think im not sure about is, if i curve back the armor will i have a problem getting it off the form? will the wood/glue/bondo have issues with the heatgun? I found some 5 packs of 1ft x 1ft sheets of Kydex on amazon, but where can i find some larger sheets for the back or possibly just larger so its cheaper?
Any advice would help, or just pointing me at someone telling me how to do it the right way? First time posting here, so if there is a better place for this post please feel free to direct.
The idea came about when my friend and i decided to do a tough mudder, in a semi boba fett costume (Basically chest/back/helm, no lower gear). We ended up settling on getting a set of armor off etsy and when i got it i was looking at it and it seemed to just be vac formed ABS and nothing too special about it. Though im sure im overly simplifying that. And after spending a while painting and working with it, we were discussing Kydex for a different project and i caught myself thinking if i could make my own forms and make Kydex armor. Pretty much i want to make a few sets for myself for different ideas, few for my friend and his girlfriend (who wants an awesome zelda themed one which sounds amazing) and maybe one or two to sell to pay for the cost maybe?
Thus i started down a research hole on what i might need and how i might do it, and how much it might cost. And basically what i was thinking was getting a couple lengths of two by fours and glue them together into the right general shape, using a bandsaw or hand saw to rough cut the shapes out, and then using a rasp/file/sandpaper/chisel to finish the shape. Possibly using bondo to hide mistakes im sure to make. Then to actually make the armor itself, heating up sheets of the kydex with ah heatgun and working them over the form with some work gloves and something like a bone tool used in pottery.
The only think im not sure about is, if i curve back the armor will i have a problem getting it off the form? will the wood/glue/bondo have issues with the heatgun? I found some 5 packs of 1ft x 1ft sheets of Kydex on amazon, but where can i find some larger sheets for the back or possibly just larger so its cheaper?
Any advice would help, or just pointing me at someone telling me how to do it the right way? First time posting here, so if there is a better place for this post please feel free to direct.
